The Company of Knaves

by Simon Shaw

Book Overview

Poisonously funny. - The New York Times

The Company of Knaves is a hilarious, satirical and very black novel from highly acclaimed author Simon Shaw.

Philip Fletcher, actor-murderer, is thrown into a jealous rage when he hears that his most hated rival is up for a knighthood. Fletcher desperately wants one too but can't immediately see how to go about it.

The death of a gossipy fellow actor and the subsequent...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312299893
• ISBN13: 9780312299897
• Release Date: December 1997
• Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.6" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Funny book in very cad taste

Philip Fletcher is in serious trouble. His friend and fellow actor, Seymour Loseby, died suddenly, and a volume of his diaries is missing. Seymour's son, a government minister and rising star in the political establishment, has received a threat to publish its contents unless paid a hundred thousand pounds. He turns to Fletcher to act as go-between. But the black-hearted actor has powerful reasons of his own to recover the missing volume. Now nearing the end of his career, he hopes not only to get a knighthood out of it from the grateful minister, but to suppress the contents of the missing book, which contained details of Philip's unsavory involvement in a couple of murders. Philip's knightly quest draws him into a world of transvestite nightclubs and gangsters, and the aging actor has to draw on all his thespian skills, with an assist from blackmail and the occasional murder, to survive. "The Company of Knaves" contains more than a whiff of the theater's greasepaint, and author Simon Shaw, flings acid-tinged darts thrown with great glee at actors and actresses, entertainers, and just about everything British. Amid this filthy world of cynicism and violence, Fletcher is still a trouper at heart, and the show must go on no matter what.

Brilliant Work of Satire

London actor Philip Fletcher is irate when he learns that his worst nightmare is about to come true. His most despised theatrical rival, Richard Jones, is to be knighted. Philip knows that he does not deserve such an award because he (Phillip) has not received his own knighthood. Surely the crown knows that Philip is superior to Dick and the amoral actor will do anything to insure he gets knighted. Nigel Loseby, an MP, turns to Philip for help. Apparently, his deceased father's journal, filled with scandalous entries that would make President Clinton blush, is about to be published. Nigel wants the journal back. Philip agrees to obtain the journal, but Nigel must help get him get knighted. Posing as a singing transvestite, Philip begins his journey into the world of S & M, drag queens and transvestites to recover the missing journal. Like the previous novels in this collection, THE COMPANY OF KNAVES is a very humorous satire that rips asuner the English theatre and award shows, especially the use of knighthoods granted to frivolous individuals. Readers will either love Philip's lack of decency or absolutely loathe the actor. The trek into the seedier side of town will also be dually received by readers depending on their sense of morality. No matter how one might feel about Philip's antics, Simon Shaw has written a clever dark comedy with his latest entry in the Fletcher theatrical crime series. Harriet Klausner